The Value of Honor in the Family

Hey everyone! We’re back. I know it has been quite a while since the last post, but now that we’re back in the groove of our homework routine, we’re finally able to add blogging back into the mix. Thanks for your patience! This is going to be updated on a monthly basis, and we hope you are able to take a moment to find out what’s happening!

This month, I wanted to share some interesting things we have been encouraged to implement in our family for one of our classes. We are taking Marriage & Family with Bill Stewart, and it has been a truly wonderful experience. The idea of this class is to prepare us for the very likely event in which we are asked to do marriage counseling. It has already been a priceless thing for David and me in our own marriage, and we’re only half-way through the quarter, so we’re excited to say the least.

One point that we found to be a very valuable piece of information is regarding how we are meant to treat our mates and children. It comes from Paul’s words in Romans 12:10. In a list of ways to show a Christ-like attitude, he says, “Give give preference to one another in honor.” The RSV translates this “out-do one another” in giving honor. Imagine what a difference could be made in even the most strained relationship if one or both parties made a conscious effort to be in awe of the other person and treat them like a treasure – to out-do each other in showing them honor. We are learning that the kind of honor we are to have toward others, especially our mates, is the kind of response we have when we learn that a seemingly worthless item is actually valued at an enormous price. When we do not appraise something very highly, then find out it is valued at a high-dollar amount and why, we gasp! Imagine walking through trinkets at an antique store or second-hand shop and coming across something of immense value. What dignitary had given this item as a gift to his wife in the 18th century? Who received that from George Washington? Wow, this thing over here must be worth a fortune. You can almost hear the low whistles… you suddenly begin holding things with gentle hands for fear of damaging them.

Now picture your spouse and your kids. Each one of them deserves this kind of honor from you. The art of attaching high value becomes easy when we take time to identify what is special and unique about people. Why are they important to you? Do they know this? David and I have spent hours in the last few weeks relating to each other through notes and conversation the things we find priceless in each other. It’s a wonderful way to reaffirm each other, to get out of ruts in our relationship and make things better than ever.

For us, only coming up on our second anniversary, this really is an easy thing to do. It’s still natural to be in shock and awe that we get to live with this amazing person God has blessed us with. But should the time come in which the stars in our eyes start to fade, we know that God has called us to love with His kind of love – the kind that acts first and feels later. We may not feel like showing honor sometimes, and possibly for legitimate reasons, but Paul’s words in Romans 12:10 were not a suggestion. If we wait to show honor until we feel our mate has earned it, we will never fulfill this command. We have to act on it – and watch the transformation as our mates become the treasure that you’re showing them they are. May our God bless your families and your efforts to serve Him!

Report for May with thoughts on the church

It's been a pretty amazing quarter, and we're extremely excited to already be half-way finished with the program! Or, at least, almost half-way. We are fast approaching the mid-quarter "research week," which means the last few weeks of classes will be gone before we know it. We are still learning a ton - almost finished with Greek (which is wonderful). We're enjoying other classes such as the survey of denominational doctrines, OT 3: Wisdom Literature, a class on Hermeneutics, and Restoration History. The women's classes this quarter are Public Speaking and a survey of the New Testament epistles: Acts through Revelation. Whew!

In Denominational Doctrines, we are covering everything from Catholicism to Islam, which has made for a very interesting class. It's pretty incredible to see how much man can deviate from God's Word in a matter of just two to three hundred years. Two thousand years later, these deviations have splintered into literally thousands more groups that all call themselves different versions of various names. What is fascinating to consider as we spend each day finding out more of this historical phenomenon, is that those who were called by Christ were not to take any other name for their "group" (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). They were simply "the church," simetimes including a reference to their location. They were not "a church" in Corinth. Not even "the Church," as though that word were a name, and not a description. As "the ones who are called out," which is what the word "church" means, this group of believers had no other name to call themselves other than the one given by which they were saved (Acts 4:12). So they were called Christians (Acts 11:26), not by men, but by the Holy Spirit as prophecied in Isaiah 62:2.

So, for people who are seeking to have fellowship with those who have been called out, the emphasis has always been to know the Word of God, so we know the church when we see it. While the words on a sign are sometimes an indicator, it is of utmost importance to see if their practices match those of the church that Jesus established in the first century. Thanks to the apostles, we have adequate instructions to follow and descriptions to read that give us a standard with which we can measure. What an irreplacable treasure we have in God's complete, inspired Word. Thank you for your participation in our training as we work to equip ourselves to bring this information to others. We've become very passionate about this; the more time we spend learning, the more we anticipate bringing what we've been given to the world around us.

God bless, and have a wonderful week!

Fourth Quarter - Unbelievable!

We're almost half-way done. This year has gone by so quickly, with no signs of slowing down. I think the coolest part about this experience has been the development of the dream. David and I had lots of what-ifs and maybes when we were planning to get married. What would God do with us as a couple? Where would we go and how could we be a part of helping God's kingdom to grow? Now there are no limits. There's not even really any concern about where we'll end up and what we will do when we get there. Two things are certain. We will share the message of God with as many people as we can, and we will do it together. God has left no doubt in our hearts as to our mission. For myself, I'm excited for having children. The mission field in our home is a priority I am preparing for to the best of my ability, and there has been no lack of helpful, practical lessons on the subject. What an incredible charge God has given us! Not only is there a world out there on whom God is anxious to pour out His compassion when they obey the message, but our homes have been built for the express purpose of bringing souls into the world that we can love and instruct from day 1.

On our campaign to Security, Colorado, this was a topic of much discussion in a parenting seminar based on Psalm 127-128. That was an incredible week, not only for the practice we got in reaching out to the local college campus, library, park, and mall to spread the word about the seminar, but also because we saw what God can do in a small congregation of people who strongly desire to be a light to their community. It gave us courage, fortified our love for God and His church, and taught us much in the way of reaching for the extraordinary instead of settling for mediocrity.

We would like to thank you, once again, for your participation in this. David and I have spent hours and hours delving deeper into the Word day after day, hoping that our lights will burn the brighter and that the world will be the better for our efforts. What effect will we have on the kingdom? It's hard to say. But if we have anything to say about it, there will be no small commotion.

MALAWI - New Plan

For those of you who have been keeping up with our progress... I am so sorry for the delay in updates! I want to let everyone know that, due to a major change in the school's schedule, we are having to postpone our mission trip to Malawi. For many years, Bear Valley has started the school year in early September and ended in June. This next year, it will start in early August and end in May. This means that we would go to Malawi in July and start right up when we returned, which was "do-able" for David and I, but not for Wayne Burger, the instructor we were going to be travelling with. This causes a major problem for him since he would not have adequate time between our return and the beginning of the school year to do everything he needs to do to prepare for his classes and take care of things at home.

While we greatly appreciate the donations that we have received - and we will continue to be raising funds throughout the summer and the following school year - we will not have the newsletter as planned with all of the exciting details about our trip until next summer. This does, however, give us a much needed opportunity to travel in the states during the month of July. We hope to have the chance to visit some of our supporting congregations as well as spend some time with family. Thank you again to those who have generously contributed to this effort, which, while delayed, will be worth the time spent preparing and certainly a great work. It will be a wonderful opportunity to build up the brethren in Malawi. God bless, and thanks.

-The Rollerts

Technology in Ministry - Are You In?

I’d like to introduce you to the 3rd largest country in the world – Facebook. In population, Facebook has officially just passed up the USA. While this may seem irrelevant, the truth is that much of the world has become an internet-dwelling people. An evolution has occurred in the way people communicate and how they spend their time. While it used to be extremely effective to advertize a gospel-meeting at your local congregation, people today what to know upfront what's in it for them – why should they pencil such a meeting into their busy schedule?

The reality is, if they are looking for the information, it is at their fingertips. They don't have to suffer any of the discomforts of a new environment full of new faces – they can Google anything they desire to know from the comfort of their own home. As of September 2009, worldwide internet users reached over 1.7 billion people. The statistics on which age groups use it the most probably won't surprise you; the newest generation has not even needed to learn the art of using the internet – it's their first language. So how are we as ministers of the gospel going to respond to these changes?

This is the focus of our Ministry Technology class. Our first assignment was to add 100 friends to our Facebook accounts by the end of the quarter. Why? Not because they need to know that I've just finished brushing my teeth. But because Bible verses in status updates are seen by literally hundreds of Christians and non-believers alike. Because people are coming to Christ by seeing the way Christians interact with each other simply by observing them online. Does Satan use the internet? Certainly. But that is all the more reason to understand how we can use it for God's glory. People have set up barriers that simply didn't exist 50 years ago. Front porches no longer exist in some areas; people pull into their garage and we don't see them again. We need to know how we are going to get behind those barriers and reach people, get them to our website, and teach them the gospel!

Our next assignment is to begin blogs with a spiritual, encouraging focus to our writing. Please take some time to check our posts and maybe follow us on Twitter. If you're not our friend on Facebook, please look us up! Suggest us to others. Meet some of our friends. It's all about spreading the gospel, and the more lives you encounter, the more you can touch. If you have questions about how to do this effectively, send us an email at DavidAndKeeley@Live.com. See you online.

David's blog: SpiritualPreparedness.wordpress.com
Keeley's blog: WifeofaPreacher.wordpress.com

MALAWI UPDATE

We now have approximate dates!
We will be leaving on Wednesday, June 30th to arrive in Malawi on Friday, July 2nd. It is not certain yet whether we will fly to London then getting a connection Malawi or if there will be a straight flight from Atlanta, as there sometimes are. For our return trip, we will be home on Tuesday, July 27th since Wayne has shortened his trip to 3 weeks. Generally, each class goes for one month, but since Wayne is doing something special it will not require the full four weeks.

More updates to come!! - Keeley

Ah, mid-terms... everyone loves midterms...

Ok so most of us don't actually like mid-terms, but they are a great way to show your progress. Sometimes we may not want that, but I like seeing ways that I can improve myself and tests are an extremely honest way to do that. The thing about it is that we only have mid-terms when we are in school; there is no "Christianity Mid-term" to let us see how we are progressing in our spiritual walk. So how do we measure how we are doing spiritually? The answer is simpler than some of us would like, that is compare ourselves to the standard of the Bible. There is the obvious comparison of, "are we displaying the fruits of the spirit?" But is there more beyond that? Because I have known some very obviously non-Christians who display the fruits better than some “Christians” that I know. Well to see how we are doing spiritually we can look at some examples in the Bible of people who were educated more correctly in the gospel and see how and why they grew.

We can look at Acts 18:24-28 where we see a man named Apollos who was educated in the scriptures, who eloquently and accurately taught about the things concerning Jesus. But he only knew the baptism of John the Baptist, so Pricilla and Aquila took him aside and taught him more accurately the ways of the gospel. After witch his was a great asset to the early church.

We can also look at Acts 19:1-7, here Paul encounters some disciples of John the Baptist. When he asks them about if they had the Holy Spirit, they told him that they did not know about the Holy Spirit. On top of that they also had only knowledge of the baptism of John. Thus Paul taught them about Jesus, His death and resurrection. When they learned the truth, they were immediately baptized, and after Paul laid his hand on them they were given the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

There are many other examples of people finding out that they were educated wrong, and after being properly educated, fixing whatever was wrong. They were willing to do this because nothing was more important to them than getting to heaven! That is a great lesson to us today; are we willing to put our pride behind us, and honestly look at our lives to see if we truly match what the Bible says a Christian should be? Are we willing to look at our Christian walk and see if there are traditions of men that we have been taught all of our lives that don’t match up with the Bible? And if we do find those unscriptural traditions of men, are we willing to get rid of them and follow the Bible?

If you are then congratulations, you are what is called a truth seeker! That is a person who wants to know the truth, and is willing to do what it takes to learn the truth. But if you are not willing to leave the unscriptural traditions of man, then you need to ask yourself what is more important in your life; heaven, or your pride? Because let’s face it, if you are unwilling to change because; “This is the way I’ve always done it” or “if I change then that means that all the people before me were wrong” or worse yet “I’m older than you so there is no way I will admit you know better than me.” If one of these is your mindset, can you really say that you are seeking fist the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)? This is your Christian mid-term; will you pass and follow the example of the Bible, or will you fail and follow the traditions of the world?

Report January 2010!

Wow - I can't believe how quickly this quarter is going... and the last one has disappeared altogether!

Several factors are making this second quarter even better than the last. Namely, that I am a little more able to keep up with the bookwork and housekeeping since I backed down on the school work-load. I have definitely been learning a lot about myself - it was a difficult pill to swallow that I wouldn't be able to stay up with everything in the day-time classes, but somehow a household must be taken care of. My number one priority is taking care of my husband, being his support in every way. It was kind of working out the other way last quarter, and that just isn't what this experience is for - this is for his learning academically and for both our learning spiritually. If I don't walk away with a degree, I have come to grips with the fact that I am no less of a hard-working person - my focus is just on other priorities.

Having said all of that, the classes I am taking are still phenomenal, the information well-put-together and biblical, and the instructors ever concerned about our success. This is an unbelievable school. I especially appreciate their emphasis on family - the motto is that a student who receives all A's in school but has not met the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of his family has failed in the end. The program is intense, but the essential part of life at this point is to learn to be a good preacher while remembering that the family God has given us is the responsibility here and now. It's all about balance. It's all about knowing that God has provided for every need - now our job is to use what we've been given to further the kingdom, starting at home. God bless the men who are working so hard to provide this rich learning environment.

On a final note, and more on this in the future: yes, it is official. David and I are going to Malawi in the summer. We will leave the last week in June and be there for most of July. One of our instructors, Wayne Burger, goes to Malawi, Africa every July to teach as part of a program intended to raise the biblical knowledge of the everyday Christian in that area. They are an extremely evangelistic people: churches that collectively had between 200-300 brethren converted over 3,000 people - LAST YEAR. This is incredible: this is what the gospel does in places where materialism has not blinded people to their need for spiritual riches. But the general knowledge has needed strengthening, so for 6 months out of the year these people have the opportunity to attend 6 different classes taught by a different man each month. Students who attend every class and finish the work receive at the end of the four year program a book form of each instructors notes on their material. 400 BRETHREN are receiving the final additions to their personal starter-libraries this year. THAT is dedication. And we are going to be there when they finish Wayne's class, the last of their program: hermaneutics. More on our work there later...

Please pray for our preparations, and please spread the word. It will cost $3,000 each for us to make the trip, and we are asking our brethren to consider assisting us in this - while we have already made progress toward this goal, there is a long way to go and only 5 1/2 months to get there. Thank you for your encouragement and thanks be to our God who has richly supplied our every need - so that we in turn may give to other children of the kingdom. Amen.